Sorry, Charlie, racism is alive & well

Posted: February 11, 2009

LETTER-writer Charles Gagliardi is partly correct in stating that people of all ethnicities are having a difficult time breaking the so-called financial barriers. But to say that "slavery and civil rights and all that jazz was generations ago" and to "let it go" is ignorant.

Even though Barack Obama is president, racism is very much alive. There are still people with negative beliefs on race, religious preferences, economic status and sexual orientation.

These ideas survive in various die-hards, as well as in government entities, regardless of their political affiliations.

Bigotry isn't inborn or inherited, it's learned. It can also be unlearned. To tell anybody of any race to ignore the problem and it will go away will not work.

Education, tolerance, respect and

love for your fellow man or woman may work. But are we all willing to open

our minds and our hearts and to put aside our differences and accept people for who they are? Simply put: Life is